


A Decision

by Millijana



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Implied Sexual Content, shega
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-21
Updated: 2013-07-21
Packaged: 2017-12-20 22:22:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/892572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Millijana/pseuds/Millijana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war was over and James had held contact with Shepard over her recovery and his N7 training. Now living on the Citadel he tried to make the best of his life without being part of her crew.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Decision

Hell, it was damn cold in this apartment. He hadn’t been here often since the Citadel was habitable again, and even less he’d been in a state of caring if it was warm or cold. He had to grin; a few hours ago he didn’t care either. He just realized now, after the shower.

He stopped at the door and threw a glance at the bed and shook his head unbelievingly.

 

He’d been already on his way out when the doorbell rang. And whom he’d seen on the screen had surprised him. He hadn’t even known she’d been on the Citadel until then, hell, he hadn’t even known she’d left earth, or even the rehab. Well, until she’d marched through his door, a fat grin tuggin’ at her lips.

 

_“You look surprised,” she stated and walked past him; without waiting for an answer or an invitation._

_And, yes he’d been surprised. How the hell had she found him so easy and when had she left earth and her rehab?_

_“And you look rested.” First thing that came to his mind. Not the most intelligent thing, though._

_“Actually I am. And I thought when both of us are on the Citadel at the same time I could pay you a visit.”_

_“Pay me a Visit, huh?”_

_She lifted one of her shoulders. “You just have to tell me, if I should rather leave.”_

_He started grinning and let the door glide shut. “No. Had no special plans anyway.”_

_“Really? No thrilling night in Purgatory?”_

_“Did you snoop around, Commander?”_

_She laughed quietly. “I wouldn’t call it that way.”_

_“Uh-huh.” He raised his eyebrows. Sure she had._

_“Let’s just say I’m well informed; about pretty much everything,” she said nonchalantly._

_“And you’re exploiting your position shamelessly.”_

_And again that grin. He had missed it. "Don’t panic, when the steamy bits happened I’ve notched myself."_

_  
He shook his head. "And that's all?"_

_  
"No," she replied lightly. She played with him._

_  
"Just no?" He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the dresser beside him. "I would have expected more from you."_

_  
And she had been waiting for such a comment. Her grin was predatory as she came up to him. "So, what did you expect? Me telling you that I did not want to spoil the tension? "_

_  
He hesitated only a moment before he answered. They played this game for far too long as she could make him nervous that easy. "Something like that or that you'd rather learn it by yourself than just watching while you're stuck on Earth." He was still grinning._

_  
The mutual teasing had become worse after she regained consciousness, and he had begun to visit regularly. At some point he hadn’t been able to sit by and watch as she had sat there in her bed looking like a picture of misery and had become less and less, instead of coming back to her feet. At first she had thrown him out of her room. But eventually had started herself, next time he’d come by._

_  
"Well, now I'm here." She seemed so close that they almost touched._  
  
  
He walked over to the bed and the window. He leaned himself with his arm against the boundary between the glass walls and let his gaze wander over the arm of the Citadel.  
There would be problems when that came out. Mighty problems. But at the moment he could not care less that. And she probably, too. He already knew that she didn’t care too much about certain regs. Fine. That would make future conversations more interesting.  
He would now know that she could make any ambiguous remark come true, if she wanted to.  
He smiled a little. And he also knew that he would not refuse.  
He had not realized that he wanted her that much until she had looked at him with that look. Dios, sure she was hot and he certainly had wondered what might lie behind her talk. But that he could be turned around by her that easily, was something he hadn’t been prepared for.  
  
  
 _"I'm waiting, Lieutenant."_

_  
"I thought you play by the rules?"_

_  
She raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? James, now I am a little surprised. I would have thought that you already know that I don’t give a damn about some rules."_

_  
"If it's worth it I suppose."_

_  
"This will have to be turned out yet. And if you delay any longer, I take that as disinterest and will go.”_

_She would not._  
At least he would not let her go. And he'd be damned if she had not known that exactly when she had come to him.  
  
  
He shook his head still leaning against the window and continued to watch the gliders that buzzed past.  
The first snatch they had, took place right on the dresser. Years of mutual teasing were put into action.  
Again, he grinned. And, yes, it was kinda hot. The fact that they had not even bothered to really undress or to change the place was something both had been turned on by. They had waited a long time. But a person had probably only up to a certain point the ability to control himself. Today both of them had lost this ability.  
Later in bed, they had both avoided the conversation about what to do next. And she had also quickly made sure that his head was once more busy with other things.  
  
"Hey," came from the bed.

  
He half turned to face her, the towel still in his hand.

  
"You look pensive, Lieutenant."

  
He said nothing, only looked at her. She lay there like a cat in the sun. She they did not care that she was not covered, or that he was also naked. She showed him a serious face, looked in his eyes. Quite the professional, even naked.

  
"You're worried about what’s next."

  
He nodded once. Sure, he was. What actually happened if you've just fucked twice your damn idol and she is still naked in your bed? And, incidentally, is more than just hot.

  
"If you worry about regulations, I might help." She stretched herself luxuriously before she looked at him with a straight face less. "I will not accept any further Command by the Alliance Navy headquarters in the future. I will continue to act as a Spectre and be consulted for specific jobs by Admiral Hackett as a specialist, but find myself outside the chain of command and will report directly and only to Hackett's command. "

  
He looked at her and walked slowly towards her. It seeped slowly into his brain what it meant. She would no longer be his superior. She would no longer subject to the regs and the Alliance would not give a damn, who she fucked. He lay down beside her on the bed and watched her for a moment.  
But it also meant that they would continue to talk most of the time by VidCom and would continue to write mostly.

  
But she did not seem to be finished. "The Council has explained to me in a long conversation that they owe me more and I would have sacrificed more than they ever thought possible. They assured me that I would have a say in my future orders and they will draw me in the future as a consultant."

  
He blinked in disbelief. “It sounds like you have them all wrapped around your finger, Lola."

  
She cocked her head a little, but had a satisfied smile on her lips. "Well, diplomacy pays up."

  
He laughed. "Yeah, your kind of diplomacy, certainly."

  
“Hey." She pushed him with her elbow into his ribs. "I can also leave."

  
"Sure, if you can find your stuff."

  
"The bigger problem is likely to be the left shoe, which has no more laces, because a certain Marine, could not wait until they were untied."

  
He laughed and just started to answer her when she interrupted him.

  
"And if you are offering me now that you've got spare, I really am leaving. And I give a damn whether I have found my underwear or not. "

  
He laughed and turned to the side to watch her.

  
She smiled at him and also turned to him, while she swung a leg over his hip. His hand went to her thigh as automatically and slid up to her butt.  
"So I'm going to spend enough time on the Citadel to keep you on your toes."

  
He looked at her and could not hide the fact that it was clear that it would not be so easy.

  
"God, James, now don’t make such a face." She propped herself up on one elbow. "This is the best we can do without both of quit duty."

  
He sighed. "And if you such a pajero will shoot you. I’ll learn it through the news."

  
She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Probably, yes." She screwed her mouth and then looked at him again. "And vice versa. What do you expect? I send you a message before I’m going to let me be shot? "She snorted again. "You know what? That was a shitty idea. I will not let you make me feel guilty, when I think I’m doing the right thing. I never have, and I never will. "

  
She pushed away from him and wanted to turn around, but he held her tightly by her thigh. "Not so fast, Lola."

  
"What?" She was serious, but he saw that she wanted to hear him out.

  
"Just because it's the best thing we can have and don’t like it, it doesn’t mean that I reject it, understood?" He pulled her a bit nearer. "Did you think I give a shit if you play the target for any meníacos?"

  
"Pff," she snorted again. "The same lunatics against which the Alliance sends you into the field. Stop making such a big deal out of it. It is our job to do that.” She said it casually, but he saw that it bothered her, too. He knew her too well not to see it. No matter how hard she tried.

  
He grinned. "I know." Her tension subsided. "That you are no longer my CO, it makes me a little harder to keep your pretty ass save. And I don’t like it. Easy as that. "

  
"Listen.” She got up on her elbow again and leaned further over to him, a finger threateningly at his chest. "I've done this long before you and your inflated ego have surfaced, my dear. So don’t act up.”

  
"Me and my inflated ego?"

  
"Yes." She pressed her finger once more onto his chest and then lay back on the mattress. She twisted her upper body until she lay back almost with both shoulders on the mattress while her leg was still swung around his waist.

  
"We have three options."

  
She said it in a businesslike tone, like she would list something quite banal and not their possibilities for a common future. He blinked at the thought.

  
"The First: It was awesome, but a one-time thing. We let it go and be content with second class arrangements in bed in the future. "

  
He had to laugh. That did not sound particularly appealing when she said it that way.

  
"Possibility number two: If we both are on the same space station, we meet up for a quick fuck, or three," they both laughed. "And leave it otherwise in sporadic messages and VidComs to know what the other one is doing and where we’re up to if we need it."

  
That sounded in his ears already significantly better than number one. But if he was honest, it also had a downside. She would be able to fuck whoever she wanted, whenever she wanted. And that...

  
"Or we could chose gate no. three," she continued before he found out for himself what was bothering him so exactly the second option.

  
"And what's behind gate no. three," he prompted when she did not continue.

  
She turned her head and looked at him seriously. "We take the whole first serious and see what comes of it. It’ll work or not.” She paused and turned her head back to the ceiling. “The way I see it, we have not much to lose. Both option one and two would lead sooner or later to the fact that we lose sight of each other. Two also has the potential to move to option three though." She looked at him again. “Basically, we can only win." She shrugged. “Unless you opt for no. one; it probably means all or nothing, James.”

  
He did not answer, but instead rolled over her so that he was between her legs; legs, which were instantly wrapped around his hips.  
And he was suddenly very sure what he wanted. It just felt too good to be right here. Right.

  
“Okay, one option is out, I think," she laughed.

  
"Like if you would have wanted that."

  
She shrugged. "If you’d asked for it. I have attacked you today. And I could not guarantee that I would not try it again in the future, but that's hardly fair. "

  
"So stay two and three."

  
"Oh, you're so smart, if you want."

  
"One of my real strengths."

  
She laughed. "Yes, like delaying decisions."

  
He shrugged. "And if I have already decided and just want to stretch it a bit?"

  
She grinned lasciviously and moved her hips a little. Enough to make him getting hard again. "I have a suggestion to pass the time." She grinned even wider as she felt his reaction. "And I think you got it already and at least part of you agree with the proposal."

  
"Only parts of me? I'm already on the way forgetting for what I have decided.” He bent down to her and kissed her. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him close.

  
"Then maybe you should quickly announce your decision before we start from scratch again later," she whispered between kisses.

  
"Impatient?"

  
"No, but I would like to focus on the sex and not have to concentrate on not missing anything."

  
He laughed and moved his pelvis against her so that his cock pressed against her entrance. She was already wet enough again that he could penetrate her with only a little more pressure, but instead he waited.

  
"James, please."

  
He slid a hand under her head, which she had tilted back and lifted it. "Look at me." She opened her eyes. "Do you really think I am satisfied with half measures, if I can have it all?"

  
"For a moment," she whispered hoarsely.

  
"You should know me better."  
  
The sex was different. Better. More intense. It was no longer just a snatch. It was a deal that was made. And he did not plan to break it.

 


End file.
